


Just a Bunch of Hocus Pocus

by Kairousels



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hocus Pocus Fusion, M/M, Spells & Enchantments, Witches
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-17
Updated: 2020-05-17
Packaged: 2021-01-16 02:30:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 18,918
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21263630
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kairousels/pseuds/Kairousels
Summary: Chanyeol isn't sure what to do when a mysterious, handsome man and his so-called brothers approach him, claiming to be witches that have given up feeding on the life force of children and instead use college students' stress to remain immortal.All he knows is that he really needs to fucking pass Organic Chemistry.





	1. Chapter 1

Deep in the forest, not far from the nearby village, lies a cottage in a small clearing.

Inside, cobwebs gather around black cauldrons and rotting potion bottles.

Candles of all kinds are placed all over the home, used and melted along the sides.

There are portraits hung along the walls of the family that once lived here, but were hung for witchcraft. Those that sneak into the cottage say the eyes of the Kim brothers follow their every move, some even claiming their expressions change when you look away

Children of the nearby town often come home, attracted by tales of witches and potions, or the dangers that lurk in the woods. They sit around the rickety table littered with bones of dead animals, and books of spells in languages they can’t comprehend. They would tell stories of the four brothers that would lure children to feed off their life force, allowing them to remain young forever.

The story goes that the four witches cast a powerful spell from their book of the damned before they died, vowing to come back to life and wreak havoc on humankind for their actions against them. 

They vowed that on all hallow’s eve, a virgin would come to light their candle of mortality, and they would be free once again.

Decades came and went, and the Kim brothers never returned from the dead. The children and young adults of the villages nearby had eventually forgotten them, leaving the witch siblings to simply remain as a scary story one would tell their children to keep them out of the woods at night. 

There were those that had tried to light the candle, but no one knew just which one to light. The Kim brothers weren’t all that specific with their directions, after all.

But one night in the year 1912, a strange man appeared in town. He held a book, much like the Kim brothers’ book of the damned, dressed in all black and a long coat. Those in town hardly had time to question his identity, for he had disappeared into the dark forest when the moon rose high in the sky.

~

A fire burns bright in the dusty old cottage, it’s first signs of life for almost over a century. 

Thin fingers strike a match against the side of the box, a hand cupping around the tiny flame as it’s brought to the wick of a black candle. The candle has many carvings into it, not at all melted or deteriorated over time, unlike the rest. The symbols illuminate soon after, and the owner of the hands step back.

Wind blows through the cottage, making the cobwebs sway with the breeze. It becomes too powerful a moment later, seeming to take every ounce of dust and dirt with it.

The fireplace blooms to life, as if it had been lit for hours. The house breathes with a new life, the walls no longer dilapidated and the roof no longer leaking.

Kyungsoo slowly steps away, hiding behind a large shelf full of books and glasses of ingredients for brews. His black attire helps him blend in easily.

A hooded figure walks by the cauldron, it now bubbling with something inside. Two others do as well.

The shutters open and the young face of a handsome man with cat-like eyes comes into view. He takes off his hood, looking at the forest around them.

“What a lovely evening,” he says, lip curling in disgust. “Makes me _ sick _.”

“Oh come now, Minseok. We can’t expect the human realm to welcome us back with storms and chaos! That’s what _ we’re _ here for!” Minseok eyes his brother as he takes off his hood, looking disgruntled.

“Sorry to have expectations after being dead for the past four hundred and twenty-five years, Jongdae. I’d at least expect the world to have been on fire by now.”

Jongdae snickers before putting his hands out before him, turning them slowly. The wind outside picks up, lightning striking in the distance as a storm rolls in. Jongdae grins wide, lightning then striking just outside their house and thunder shaking the walls of their cottage.

Minseok and Jongdae laugh together, but across from them, another brother looks around, perplexed. He removes his hood, glaring at the candle of mortality.

“What’s wrong, Junmyeon?”

There is a beat of silence.

“Brothers.” Jongdae stops his cackling, turning to look at Junmyeon. “I’m afraid our dear virgin _ savior _ is nowhere to be found.”

“Oh dear,” Minseok says, a slow grin creeping onto his face. Jongdae starts to mirror it, them both looking around the cabin slowly. “Come out little virgin. We won’t hurt you.”

Steadily they creep around, and Kyungsoo stays with his back flush against the shelf. He lifts the book from under his arm, opening it. He reads the instructions over and over until they’re ingrained in his mind. He’s about to shut it, when a soft voice sounds directly in his ear.

“Oooooo what are you reading?”

Kyungsoo jolts, turning to find there is someone directly next to him, hanging upside by the beam supporting the roof of the cottage. His hair is a fluffy brown, eyes soft as he smiles.

Suddenly there is a jolt running straight through his body, like electricity causing him to go completely stiff. He falls to his knees, spasming as he drops his book. 

“Good job, Jongin! You found the virgin!” Jongdae exclaims, clapping happily as if praising a child.

Kyungsoo question looks at Jongin, who elegantly falls to the ground and lands on his feet. The electricity running through him makes him grit his teeth even though his eyes are glued to the youngest Kim brother.

Jongin smiles softly, tilting his head and getting on one knee to look at him. His long, thin fingers press to Kyungsoo’s pale cheek.

“You’re such a pretty virgin.” His eyes brighten, looking up a Junmyeon who is now beside him and playing with Jongin’s hair. “Can I play with him, Hyung? Please?”

Jongin grips Kyungsoo’s arm and holds him close.

Junmyeon smiles, speaking softly. “Maybe after we find out just who our little _ savior _ is. Jongdae, you can let him go.”

Kyungsoo falls against Jongin, breathing heavily with wide eyes. Jongin starts to pet him, so he pulls away, clamoring to his feet and pulling a dagger from inside his coat.

“Stay back, witches.” 

“Oh gosh, his voice is so deep and dreamy.” Jongin visibly swoons, standing and clasping his hands together.

Jongdae slides in next to him, chuckling when the man points the dagger at him. He uses the tip of his finger to move it away, walking even closer with a strange glint in his eyes. His cat-like smile makes Kyungsoo shiver. 

No. He can do this. All his training has lead up to this.

“Won’t you tell us your name, pretty virgin?” Jongdae purrs. “Our baby brother wishes to know.”

Jongin is suddenly in his face now, eyes so bright but sparking with a vibrant purple in the iris. “Oh yes, please! Won’t you tell us so we can play?”

The man holds his breath but quickly composes himself. He puts out his hands, the tattoos there glowing in the presence of evil. Jongdae and Jongin recoil, Minseok’s expression hardening. Junmyeon backs away, letting Jongin cower behind him.

“Witch hunter!” Jongin yells, gripping Junmyeon’s cloak.

“No wonder he’s a virgin,” Minseok grumbles.

“Behold!” the man shouts. “My name is Do Kyungsoo, and I’m here to put your souls to rest _ permanently _ so that you may never torture the mortals of this realm ever again.”

Jongdae and Jongin scream, lightning striking outside and making the room flash with light.

Kyungsoo drags the dagger across his own palm, the magic embedded within the tattoo sparkling around his palm. “I shall ban you to the nether realm where your ugly faces will never grace this earth again! Prepare to burn!”

Jongdae puts his hand to his chest. “Not the nether world!”

Jongin holds his arm frantically. “Not our ugly souls!!”

There is a deathly silence that takes over the room, and just as Kyungsoo starts to mutter the incantations, Junmyeon lets out an eerie laugh. Kyungsoo's blood freezes, looking around nervously when Minseok joins in. Suddenly, Kyungsoo’s lips can’t move and when his eyes dart to Junmyeon he sees him mumbling under his breath.

Jongdae chuckles too, Jongin’s soft giggles filling the room as his bright smile returns to his face.

Minseok stalks around the cauldron between him and Kyungsoo. He throws in ingredients here and there, teeth glinting from his wide smile. Jongdae bites off his nail, spiting it into the brew as it flashes brightly in color. 

Jongin is no longer in sight and Kyungsoo panics, hears a sound just beside him the resembles tearing paper. A hand reaches to his own, fingers stroking at his bloody palm. He looks to his side, just in time to see black wisps disappear from sight.

“Over here,” a sing-song voice calls, and Kyungsoo looks just in time to see Jongin materialize just in front of him, smile no longer gentle but borderline maniac. 

He flicks his fingers towards the cauldron, droplets of Kyungsoo’s blood falling into the brew as it begins to boil over.

“What’s the matter, witch hunter?” Minseok says, expression darkening. “Cat got your tongue?”

Kyungsoo blinks, looking just in time to see Jongdae kicking over the cauldron. The brew spills out over the floor, still bubbling as if still over the fire. The bubbles cover his shoes, growing and crawling up his legs like it’s trying to overtake him.

He lets out a short scream when it climbs quickly, covering him until he’s blind. Suddenly his world shifts, and he can’t quite explain it but his scream turns into an animalistic squawk. Before he knows it, he’s able to see again, but everything is _ towering _ over him. 

His head whips around, fear gripping his heart. “What the hell?!”

Jongdae peers down at him from over the cauldron, eyebrows raising. 

“Why is he a bird?” Jongdae is whining, looking at his brother like he just brought shame onto their family. “I thought you asked him if the cat got his tongue. This was supposed to be a _ pun _, Minseok.”

Minseok curls his lips down at Kyungsoo, especially when the human-turned-crow starts to flap his wings wildly. “_ Look _, I haven’t done a transformation spell in centuries, and I didn’t exactly have a book to read from.”

Jongin ignores his brothers banters. He just coos and scoots over to Kyungsoo’s tiny form on his knees, putting out his fingers to pet him.

Jongdae huffs. “Some witch you are!”

“Then why didn’t you do it then?”

“You know what? Next time I will. Mom was right: you’re not good at anything besides making _ ice cubes _.”

“Why you-”

Junmyeon sighs tiredly when Minseok raises his hand, ice shooting towards Jongdae. The witch narrowly avoids it. Junmyeon opens his book of the damned that was resting high on a shelf, stroking it and talking to it gently.

A shot of electricity shoots just where the book was resting a moment ago. Junmyeon goes and sits on the plush couch, licking his finger and turning each page as his brothers fight. 

“So cute.” Magic flies through the air as Jongin giggles under his breath and pokes at Kyungsoo’s little feathery chest, yelping in pain when Kyungsoo pecks hard at him. “Ow!”

“Will someone please tell me what the fuck you did to me?!” Kyungsoo screeches, somehow still able to talk. 

Fucking witches. His mentor warned him about this. Are they going to kill him? Cook him up? Make him do their evil bidding?

Jongin pouts, looking hurt as brings his injured finger to his chest. He speaks through his pout, giving Kyungsoo the stink eye a moment later. “You’re the one that wanted to burn us.”

Jongin gets up, shooting one last dirty look at the witch hunter and going over to Junmyeon. He sits beside him, leaning into him and relaxing.

“_ Excuse me?! _” Kyungsoo screeches, cawing and flying just in time as a bolt of lightning lands right where he was just standing.

“Will you shut up? Dumb bird.”

“_ You made me this way _!” Kyungsoo narrowly avoids another bolt of lighting, settling high on the beam above the Kim brothers and cawing loudly.

“Stop torturing the virgin, Jongdae.” Junmyeon chides, looking stressed all of a sudden. Minseok snickers.

“It was a _ choice _, okay?” Kyungsoo grumbles. He flaps his wings, trying to think of any way he can get out of this. He comes up short.

Jongdae turns away from Kyungsoo, instead looking at the book in Junmyeon’s hands. “Hyung? What are you looking for?”

Junmyeon turns another page, sighing. “We must feed on a life force tonight before the sun rises or we will turn to dust.” He shuts the book, looking at his brothers seriously.

Minseok sniffs. “I don’t smell any children.” 

Jongin groans, rolling his eyes. “I’m tired of feeding on _ children _.”

“He has a point. It wasn’t very popular with the nearby village either.” Jongdae lazily gestures to the witch hunter above them, Kyungsoo’s feathers bristling in response. “Or the hunters, apparently.”

Junmyeon ponders. “We would need something substantial. Something extremely powerful. Something that takes over a person’s entire being and rules their life.”

“Lust?” Jongdae wiggles his eyebrows. Jongin and Minseok scoff.

“We’re not becoming a band of whores, Jongdae.” Junmyeon says flatly. 

Minseok’s eyebrows furrow. “I might have an idea.”

Jongin perks up, Junmyeon looking at his brother curiously as well. 

Jongdae doesn’t seem to have much interest though. Instead, he just gets a sly grin and glances up at Kyungsoo, making a finger gun and shooting a bolt of lightning at him. Kyungsoo screeches, flapping his wings like mad.


	2. Chapter 2

Chanyeol rubs his face harshly, staring blankly at the bus doors in front of him. They open, and he steps out clumsily.

He is currently running on five cups of coffee, two small energy drinks, an entire pizza for “breakfast”, and seven cat naps he’s taken in the last 24 hours. 

He is a pharmacy student in the middle of exam week.

He’s already taken three exams, and his very last will be the worst: Organic Chemistry II.

Chanyeol isn’t even sure how he passed Organic Chemistry I with a decent grade considering how much he struggled. 

Why he chose this major? He’ll never know. But he’s too deep now to be able to have a career change, thus his sleepless nights and hours upon hours of studying have become his daily life in the last two months.

He’s way too wired to go out, unlike most of his friends. Chanyeol is usually a social butterfly himself, but he’s already had to retake so many of his classes. He can’t afford to have to do it again.

It’s make it or break it now, and Chanyeol is just relieved that a couple of his friends are in a similar boat. Baekhyun is a pharmacy student just like him, and Sehun is studying neurology. The three of them usually gather once a week to study together, but lately it’s been almost every day. 

Chanyeol’s on his way to meet with them now, walking like a zombie up the sidewalk. His bag is heavy from his textbooks and notebooks, but he can barely feel it. He honestly can’t feel anything at the moment, which should worry him but he supposes he can just sleep it all off after the damn final is over.

People avoid him as they walk by, and he finds himself grateful for that because he’s pretty sure he’s been walking with his eyes closed this entire time. 

Is it possible to take a cat nap while walking?

“I smell despair,” someone behind him says, and Chanyeol blearily blinks his eyes open. “The college must be this way.”

Chanyeol looks just in time to see three men walking by, and he does a double-take.

They’re all insanely well dress, head to toe in named brands that Chanyeol could only dream of owning. He recognizes one of their coats to be Gucci, only knowing it because the damn brand has shown up on his social media account ever since he visited the site _once_ years ago. Every price hurt him just to look at so he closed it and never opened it again.

He supposes he sees name brands all day, but for some reason these three men catch his eye. They’re dressed in all black, minimal splashes of white incorporated into their outfits They hold themselves high, not even regarding the people around them.

Chanyeol is so caught up on them, that he accidentally runs into one of them. It’s then that Chanyeol finds himself wide awake for the first time in days.

He always thought his university would be the reason for his brain to permanently stop working, but this man standing before him completely takes his breath away. 

Faded black hair and a sharp jawline makes Chanyeol swallow harshly, unable to take the pretty, bright brown eyes behind thin, round glasses that immediately look to him. The man tilts his head, plush lips pulling into the most gentle smile Chanyeol has ever seen. A long overcoat is draped over his shoulders, leather gloves covering his hands as he gives a little wave.

“Sorry about that,” the man says, and Chanyeol melts like butter at the other’s smooth voice.

Chanyeol’s mouth opens and closes unattractively. 

“Jongin, hurry up! Junmyeon didn’t send us here to _flirt_ with our food,” one of the men call a little ahead of him, and Chanyeol looks from them to Jongin. He hadn’t even realized they both stopped walking.

The food comment should strike him as odd but soon Jongin smiles at him, brighter this time as bows his head a little, and Chanyeol is once again awestruck. He runs to the two other men, and leaves Chanyeol to himself to fully process the _beauty_ that he just witnessed.

One man is not allowed to be that handsome, Chanyeol decided. Eventually, he shakes his head, blaming his stupidly awestruck expression on exhaustion. Instead, he continues trekking up the hill, turning after a while towards the campus building he’s meeting his friends at.

The man and his companions disappear from sight, and Chanyeol forgets about them quickly. His mind goes back to Organic Chemistry, immediately feeling a headache coming on.

~

“Okay. Quiz me.”

Chanyeol scribbles more notes down as Baekhyun speaks, seeing him lean back from the table with confidence. Somewhere behind them, other students are laughing and joking around at a nearby table in the small courtyard they’re all studying in. The noise doesn’t bother him though. It helps him focus if anything.

Sehun sighs.

“What’s a covalent bond?”

“Are you fucking kidding me? Do I look like I’m a first year taking some Intro to Chemistry class?”

“I don’t know what you expect from me. I take Organic Chem next year. I’d prefer to not have to think about the hell that awaits me.” Sehun’s voice is flat, and his study partner, Minhyung, laughs next to him.

Baekhyun’s lip curls in disgust. “_Second Years_. Still full of youth and hope for their future.”

Chanyeol rolls his eyes, finishing the final section of his notes before putting his pencil down. He rubs his hand, it sore from too much writing. He looks at Baekhyun, who gives him an excited look and pushes his index cards over to him.

“Quiz me.”

“Baekhyun, I quizzed you an hour ago.”

“_Again_.” Baekhyun says, a fire in his eyes. “I’ll do better this time. I know it.”

Chanyeol sighs and shakes his head. Last time his best friend had done miserably, forgetting over half of the deck. He picks up the cards, showing him the first one and watching Baekhyun’s eyes go blank.

“Uh.”

“Come on. You know this one. Half of the problem is you psyching yourself out.”

Baekhyun gets an indignant look. “I do not ‘psych myself out’ I just...”

Chanyeol blinks when his best friend trails off, seeing him looking somewhere behind him. He follows his line of sight, seeing three rather handsome men entering the courtyard they’re studying in. Chanyeol’s heart skips a beat when he recognizes them to be the same men from earlier, immediately eyeing the one known as Jongin and feeling his throat go dry.

Jongin doesn’t seem to notice him, just happily looking at the other students studying as the other two men he’s with seem to be conspiring something.

Chanyeol sees them looking at the other students like they’re looking at a menu of a restaurant as they walk farther into the courtyard together. They slowly come closer and Chanyeol prays to every deity they don’t come over to his table.

One of them looks at Sehun with a disgusted curl to his lip. “Works out too much. Too healthy to feed on.”

What the fuck?

All three of the men, Jongin included, glance straight at him. Chanyeol feels like shrinking into his seat when they look up and down his entire body. Jongin grins excitedly, the other two with him looking much more sinister when they smile at him.

“Perfect,” the three say in unison.

What the _fuck_?

Baekhyun’s expression turns bewildered as the three men walk directly over to them. Their attention, though, is suddenly directed to a single, black bird that swoops in and lands directly on Chanyeol’s textbook in front of them.

Chanyeol jumps, staring wide-eyed at the bird as it caws and flaps its wings frantically. Call him insane, but it's like the bird is cawing at _him_.

Just as he is about to gently shoo it away, someone slams a textbook straight into it to send it flying to the side. It gives a pathetic caw, a puff of feathers all over the table being the only evidence it was there in the first place. Chanyeol looks up in alarm, seeing one of the men from before, the one with the cheshire grin and eyebrows straighter than Chanyeol’s sexuality.

“Pesky birds. Always getting in other people’s business.” He sits on one of the chairs at their table gracefully, Baekhyun’s textbook under his arm as he rests his chin on his palm. He stretches his other hand, keeping intense eye contact. “Kim Jongdae.”

“Uh,” Chanyeol says stupidly, taking his hand and shaking it without thinking. His expression turns concerned as he glances at the poor bird, but it seems just fine on the ground. In fact it looks like it’s sending a death at Jongdae, stomping its little feet as it walks in circles as if it is frustrated. Chanyeol gets the chills at how human it seems.

The other two settle at the table too, and Chanyeol can’t take his eyes off Jongin as he sits, long legs outstretched and crossed at his ankles. He leans against the table, looking at Chanyeol with a gentle smile without ever looking away.

Chanyeol’s gaze falls to his notebook before his brain can completely short circuit.

Everyone stares at the guests in awkward silence. 

Except for Minhyung who has had his headphones in the whole time. He randomly sighs in frustration, and slams his head on his textbook, his headphones falling out from the force.

“Fuck Cellular Biology. I want to _die_.”

“Oh really now?” One of the men purr, and Minhyung’s head snaps up at the sound of a new voice. Sehun blinks up in confusion at them too.

“This is Minseok, my brother. And this is Jongin, our youngest brother.” Jongdae says casually, leaning in and staring straight at Baekhyun now. Baekhyun shrinks under his stare.

Jongin is still only watching Chanyeol from under his lashes, giving a shy hello when Chanyeol actually glances at him again. 

Fuck, he’s so cute with those round glasses perched upon his nose and those pretty cheeks dusted with pink. Chanyeol has to be dreaming.

“Well.. It’s nice to meet you guys, but we kind of have exams to study for…” Baekhyun trails off, obviously trying to be polite.

“But that’s exactly why we’re here,” Minseok sing-songs. “You see, we would like to feed off of your souls so that we may keep up our youthful appearance.”

At everyone’s panicked look, Jongdae steps in with a charming smile. He even _winks_ at Baekhyun, making him fluster. “He means to feed off of your stress, of course. We have given up devouring mortal souls decades ago, so do not fret!”

If it was awkward before, Chanyeol has no idea what to call this suffocating atmosphere now.

Baekhyun laughs, obviously trying to diffuse the tension but then Sehun and his ever blunt self just makes it worse.

“What the fuck are you talking about?”

“We’re witches!” Minseok announces cheerily. “But to preserve our magic and remain eternally young, we must feed on something. We use stress, unlike the more unconventional ways of other covens.”

Chanyeol rubs his head, shaking it slowly as he listens to Sehun engage Minseok and Jongdae further. Baekhyun even joins in after a while, looking overwhelmed when the two move their chairs so they’re on either side of him. To say his best friend looks stressed is an understatement, but Chanyeol is just sitting there in shock at this insane situation.

Maybe he really did fall asleep while he was walking.

What the fuck is even happening?

There is a little movement out of the corner of his eye, and Chanyeol looks just in time to see Jongin scoot his chair a little closer to him. Unlike his brothers, Jongin seems to respect personal space, and only curiously glances at Chanyeol's miscellaneous worksheets spread out over his little workspace.

Jongin’s eyes sparkle as he looks at the information, hesitantly reaching out to turn the paper towards him. His voice is small when he speaks, but it’s smooth like honey, and Chanyeol’s heart thumps a little faster in his chest at the sound.

“What are you studying?”

Chanyeol swallows, briefly glancing at Jongin’s brothers and noticing how they’re not even paying attention to him anymore, too focused on his friends at the table. He licks his lips.

“It’s… Organic Chemistry,” he says weakly. Chanyeol feels like he would still be completely awestruck by the other man if it weren’t for the weird _witch_ stuff his brothers were spouting about, still spouting actually. Chanyeol tries not to listen, and instead focuses on pretty fingers reaching for his pencil.

Jongin gestures to the assignment he was gazing at. “May I?

Chanyeol blinks, nodding without really understanding what the other means.

Jongin takes the paper, putting it in front of him. His eyes read the entire thing, and Chanyeol is once again left in shock as he easily fills in every answer with ease.

Chanyeol leans closer, mouth hanging open unattractively as he sputters. “How did you do that?”

Jongin laughs, and it makes Chanyeol feel all warm and tingly. “I’m a witch! Chemistry of all kinds is my thing.”

“R-Right,” Chanyeol says, unsure. He looks at the paper again, holding his head when a headache starts to come on. 

Fuck, how is he going to be able to pass this exam? He was staring at this stupid assignment all night last night and had no idea where to even begin!

Just as a wave of stress seems to start engulfing his entire being, Jongin tilts his head and clicks his tongue.

“I could help you, you know,” he says softly, but when Chanyeol looks into his eyes he sees an unnatural spark of purple in the iris for just a moment. Black tendrils suddenly start to twirl a little around Jongin’s fingers, like tiny strings of silk.

_What. The. Fuck._

“I would just need one thing in return,” Jongin says, offering his open palm to Chanyeol. His lips part, eyes dark now with something that makes Chanyeol weak in the knees.

Jongin smirks as if he knows his effect on the other man, and Chanyeol feels a little like fainting. From Jongin’s stupid handsome face? Or from the fact that maybe, _just maybe_, Jongin really is a witch? He’s not sure.

“W-What’s that?” Chanyeol whispers stupidly.

Jongin leans in a little closer, and Chanyeol can feel his warm breath on his face. He licks his lips, eyes brightening when Chanyeol seems to follow the movement.

“Let me feed off of you.”

There is a beat of silence, and Chanyeol just blinks.

There is something entirely off about this whole thing, and he's pretty he is just severely sleep-deprived and Jongin is actually just insane just like his brothers, but a part of him is open to any help he can get at this point.

And the longer he stares at his assignment, the more he tells himself maybe this is a good idea. Because at this point, he's ready to make a deal with the devil to save his ass from failing this exam.

Chanyeol nods hesitantly, whispering so the others don't possibly hear. "Okay."

Jongin's eyebrow raises, and Chanyeol's heart flip flops in his chest at the amused expression on the other man's face. "Okay?"

"Yeah…" Chanyeol licks his lips. "Just don't… kill me."

Jongin's eyes twinkle at that, and he takes Chanyeol's hand into his own suddenly. "Oh trust me. You'll feel great by the time I'm done with you."

Chanyeol gulps, eyes wide as Jongin looks him up and down, openly checking him out.

What the fuck.

  
  



	3. Chapter 3

  
  


To say Chanyeol is nervous is an understatement.

Not only did he hardly sleep last night due to a mix of studying and stressing about today, but he also had to hear Baekhyun scream at him all morning once he found out where Chanyeol was going today.

He’s currently pacing outside of a _ very _ expensive apartment building. His backpack is full of self-help books, notes, and his thick ass chem textbook from class. He couldn’t fit his laptop, so he clings to it as he stares at his feet. 

A few days ago, when Chanyeol had his encounter with the strange Kim Brothers, he and Jongin actually had a somewhat normal conversation. Chanyeol tried to avoid the whole witch thing, which seemed to amuse Jongin but the other man managed to tell Chanyeol about some of the answers on the assignment he filled out. 

Sitting there, watching Jongin’s pretty lips as he explained some of the advanced concepts was both torture and the best thing Chanyeol experienced all day. Because for once he could understand this stupid subject. Not just understand, but completely comprehend it to the point where he found himself _ remembering _.

So when he had told Baekhyun he was off to get the stress sucked out of him by a hot witch, his friend, of course, did not agree with his decision. But Chanyeol really fucking needs help, and Jongin actually seemed to know what he was talking about.

Now he finds himself in front of a high rise apartment, all confidence gone and the dread sinking in. During the entire duration of his walk to his destination, his feet felt heavier and heavier. Hence why he can’t just go and open the goddamn door in front of him that leads to the apartment lobby.

Jongin had told him to meet him here at his place and had handed Chanyeol a little piece of paper with his address scribbled on it. He doesn't have a phone, so Chanyeol feels guilty just chickening out and not going if the other is there waiting for him to show up. 

Chanyeol steels himself, taking a deep breath and looking at the doors with determination.

He can do this.

He whimpers, thinking about the number of assignments he has to do and immediately feeling an oncoming headache. 

He _ needs _to do this.

He finally works up the courage to go inside the apartment building, pushing open the doors and puffing out his chest. He’s got a lot of false confidence walking up to where a girl with long, manicured nails sits behind her desk, giving him a short glare. But he figures any confidence is confidence, right?

The girl unsubtly looks him up and down' probably judging his fashion choices. She doesn’t offer a kind “can I help you?” or even a “Hello”. Chanyeol tries not to falter.

”I- uh. I’m here for Kim Junmyeon?” 

He’s Jongin’s oldest brother. Jongin had briefly told him Junmyeon was the one who owned the apartment, so to enter Chanyeol would have to give his name at the front. 

“Park Chanyeol?” She asks with disinterest.

“Yeah.” 

She says no more, just getting up and leading him to the elevator. Her heels clack loudly against the floor and Chanyeol tries to focus on that rather than his racing heart at the moment. He awkwardly walks into the elevator once the doors open, watching her swipe a key card and press the button for the floor he has to go to. 

He thanks her awkwardly but she has already turned around and walked away.

Is she a witch too? Is this building a hub for witches? 

Or are Jongin and his brothers simply just hiding out here? 

God he has so many questions.

It takes quite a few moments The elevator opens and he steps out, eyes wide when he sees that there are only two apartments on this entire floor. One at the end of the hall, and another a little closer to the elevator. 

Holy shit. They really are loaded.

Chanyeol nervously looks down at the address Jongin gave him, gulping when he confirms it’s the correct apartment number he’s standing in front of.

It takes all of the will power left inside of him to raise his shaky fist to the door and actually knock. He supposes he could have used the doorbell, but he’s not exactly thinking clearly at the moment. His brain is currently in fight or flight mode right now, and he can hardly control his breathing.

Fuck, maybe this was a mistake. There’s still time to get back to the elevator and-

The door unlocks, and Chanyeol’s wide eyes make eye contact with Jongin’s brother the moment he opens the door. Junmyeon has a curious expression on his face, looking Chanyeol up and down. Chanyeol notices he has very soft features unlike his brothers, and pretty eyes behind thin-rimmed glasses. Are all of the Kims drop-dead gorgeous? 

Junmyeon hums, pushing his glasses farther up the bridge of his nose. ”Ah, you must be Jongin’s meal. Right this way.” 

Chanyeol really _ really _should run but the weight of his backpack reminds him to remain strong. He walks in when Junmyeon holds the door open for him, about to take his shoes off but Junmyeon stops him. 

“You’re going to want to keep them on if you want to continue having ten toes. Who knows what Jongdae is cooking up today. He may just steal one if his recipe calls for it.”

Chanyeol starts to crack a smile, but it dies on his lips when he notices Junmyeon is _ serious _.

“Right… Uh, thank you for telling me.”

Junmyeon gives a polite nod, gesturing him to follow him deeper into the apartment. 

Chanyeol doesn’t bother to control himself from outwardly gawking at the inside of the home. It’s minimal, a type of home Chanyeol would only see in Iron Man movies or something. There is art hung everywhere, but despite it being rather strange, it’s tasteful for its setting. In fact, the entire place feels almost like a museum. It’s surprisingly even quiet like a museum too, and Chanyeol glances around warily in case another Kim brother pops out and tries to steal his toes or something.

Chanyeol observes the Kim brother in front of him as they walk down a nearby hall. Junmyeon is quiet, much calmer and poised than Minseok or Jongdae who were like two hurricanes combining together.

Junmyeon suddenly stops and Chanyeol nearly runs into him, blinking when Junmyeon turns to face what seems to be a coat closet. He sighs a moment, mumbling to himself as he knocks on the door. He steps back, standing directly next to Chanyeol with an awkward expression on his face. 

There’s a long silence.

Chanyeol swallows. “Uh.” 

Junmyeon sighs frustratedly. “They never answer the damn door.” 

He steps forward and knocks again, loud and aggressive until the door is suddenly swinging open. 

“_ What? _ ” Jongdae’s voice is entirely too loud, but Chanyeol is too thrown off by the sight of the inside of the closet that's _ not actually a closet. _Chanyeol’s eyes are wide as he takes in what seems to be an entirely different home on the other side of the closet doors. 

Junmyeon makes a face, gesturing to Chanyeol. “Jongin’s _ guest _.”

Jongdae looks to Chanyeol with the same disgruntled expression he was giving his brother, but it morphs into a Cheshire smile. 

“Ah yes, the tall one with the mild onset of insomnia and crippling anxiety,” Jongdae drawls, cocking his head to the side and looking Chanyeol head to toe. Chanyeol feels the need to hide behind Junmyeon, clutching his laptop to his chest. Jongdae looks at Chanyeol’s shoes and clicks his tongue in disdain. “You told him to keep his shoes on, didn’t you?”

“Yes. Stop stealing mortals’ toes. They need them to walk and I'm tired of getting emails from the apartment building saying they are investigating why other residents are missing pieces of their _ bodies _.” Junmyeon’s voice sounds firm, but Jongdae rolls his eyes.

“I made them grow back on a couple of people!”

“Jongdae-”

“Is that Chanyeol?” Chanyeol’s heart skips a beat at the familiar honey-sweet voice from behind Jongdae. Suddenly Jongdae is shoved out of the way, Chanyeol hearing an exasperated ‘_ move _’ before Jongin’s bright eyes and grin comes into view.

Chanyeol blinks, feeling very out of breath when Jongin beams up at him. He’s wearing an apron and a black sweater underneath. His hair is perfectly styled, a much deeper black than it had been before and Chanyeol wonders if he dyed it.

Do witches use hair dye? He’s scared to even ask.

“Chanyeol, here come in!” He doesn’t even hesitate to grab Chanyeol’s arm, holding onto it as if they’re life long friends as he guides Chanyeol into the closet. Well. It’s definitely not a closet. It’s more of a cottage jammed _ inside _ of a closet. He looks around, a little bewildered, but he doesn’t even have time to take it in because he’s being dragged to the little seating area next to the fireplace by Jongin. 

Jongin makes him sit down and Chanyeol looks at the array of tiny finger foods on the table, seeing that all of the little sandwiches have mini toothpicks with olives on the top. There is a teapot and a couple of cups there too, steam coming from the spout and when Chanyeol sniffs the air he can smell the scent of the oolong tea steeping inside of it.

He looks up to see Jongin fidgeting in excitement. “Do you like them? I spent all morning making them and some other snacks for our study session.”

Chanyeol laughs in disbelief, unable to stop himself before the words spill from his lips. “You made sand_ witches _.”

There is a beat of silence and Chanyeol wants the entire world to just swallow him up when the smile disappears from Jongin’s face for half a second. The other blinks, looking down at the sandwiches and back up at Chanyeol a few times.

Just as Chanyeol is about to fling himself into the burning fire next to him, Jongin starts to grin and _ oh _. Oh this is the brightest smile Chanyeol has ever seen, and oh god Jongin’s eyes are crinkling up into cute little crescents. His giggles are precious too, fuck Chanyeol’s heart can’t take this.

Jongin laughs to himself, smiling wide afterward. He tilts his head, reaching out and stroking Chanyeol’s ear fondly.

“I like you. You’re cute.” Jongin gives him one last excited look. “You can get comfortable. I need to go finish a couple of things.”

And with that, the witch turns and leaves, a little pep in his step.

Chanyeol is once again rendered speechless, and his brain really can’t process from what. The fact Jongin just gave him one of the most gorgeous smiles in human history and _ Chanyeol _ was the cause of it or the fact Jongin just fondly caressed his ear like it was no big deal.

Did he just… get praised? 

Why does he feel like a dog that just got pets? Why does he _ like _ it?

Chanyeol shakes his head, eyes scanning the room around him. He lets out a yelp when he notices Minseok standing right behind him, sharp eyes glaring up at him and making Chanyeol tremble in his boots.

It's dead silent until Minseok finally speaks.

"I don't understand your joke."

Chanyeol's eyes widen. "W-What?"

"Your sandwich joke." He leans in closer, voice dropping to a whisper and Chanyeol has never felt more in danger in his entire life.

"Oh-Oh, uh well… it was just a pun. Because you know… Jongin made sandwiches… and he's a witch." Chanyeol gulps as Minseok's glare hardens. "Sand_ w-witches _."

"Is that a slur, mortal? Did you just verbally insult my brother to his face by comparing our people to bread slices slapped together with deli meat in the middle?"

"No! Uh- maybe." Chanyeol panics. "I didn't mean anything bad by it! I promise! I-It was just a bad joke…"

Minseok's glare doesn't falter as he looks Chanyeol head to toe. He makes a gesture with his hands, and Chanyeol is almost worried he's casting a spell to turn him straight to dust. Instead, he points at him.

"I'm watching you, mortal."

"R-Right." Chanyeol tries to smile politely, but he can't hide the fear bubbling in his chest as Minseok slowly walks away. He can only breathe properly when the Kim brother walks up the stairs and completely disappears from sight. Now he's left alone with his thoughts, wearily looking at his surroundings again. 

As if the run-in with Minseok wasn't enough, his stress levels peak once again as he looks around the cottage, seeing vials and _ questionable ingredients _ floating in various jars. But with those, come elegant decorations and multiple house plants. Overall, the walls are white, making the green of the plants and other splashes of color stick out prettily here and there. It’s like a house straight out of Fixer Upper, but if the show were run by witches considering the large black cauldron in the center of the room and the multiple jars of rotting whatever put up like they’re a conversational piece.

Maybe for witches they are. 

Chanyeol doesn’t know if he’s just becoming numb to it all, but the cottage inside Junmyeon’s tiny closet seems for the most part _ normal _.

He puts his laptop down on the table, eyes curious as he glances to the thick forest just outside the windows and munches on one of the sandwiches Jongin made. Where the fuck is he right now?

“You’re not in Kansas anymore, Toto.”

Chanyeol whips his head around, blinking.

“Down here, Einstein.” Chanyeol looks down, startling when he sees a crow now standing on top of his laptop. Did it just- “Yes. I speak. I can’t believe you’re dumb enough to actually _ come here _. I tried to warn you to run when they first targeted you, but apparently you have a death wish.”

That’s it. He’s officially dreaming all of this.

“What the fuck,” he whispers, trying to move away from the bird. He looks at it like it will lunge at him at any moment, but it just gazes at him, highly unamused.

“My name is Kyungsoo. I used to be human like you.” The bird- Kyungsoo says, sounding grumpy. Chanyeol nods slowly, wondering what Jongin put in those mini sandwiches. 

“Used to be?” Chanyeol asks warily. Is this what the Kim brothers do to college students after they drain them of their stress? Because of all animals Chanyeol always wanted to be when he was a kid, a crow was definitely not on the list.

Kyungsoo grumbles, feathers bristling. “_ They _ did this to me.”

Before Chanyeol can even comprehend that statement, Chanyeol’s senses are filled with sweet cinnamon as Jongin elegantly sits next to him. He puts the pastries down next to the finger foods, giving Kyungsoo a little pout.

He looks to Chanyeol, eyes a tad bit mischievous. “What he’s not telling you is he came barging in here casting spells to send my brothers and me to the nether world.”

Jongin gazes at Chanyeol expectantly, and Chanyeol just coughs awkwardly. “How… rude.”

“I know right?”

“I feel as if I have said this for hundreds of years but I regret ever waking you four up in the first place,” Kyungsoo says, voice dead. Chanyeol’s surprised when Jongin just laughs to himself and even pats Kyungsoo’s feathery head like he’s a pet.

“You don’t mean that, little bird.” Jongin looks to Chanyeol again. “Did you bring everything? I have some old books from my academy days I can bring down if we need extra references.”

Chanyeol gulps, awkwardly picking up his bag. “Uh… Yeah sure.”

Jongin clasps his hands together. “Perfect. I’ll be right back again.”

Jongin gets up and goes to a small set of spiral stairs, disappearing.

It’s then that Chanyeol looks at the pastries he had made, seeing the little swirls and designs Jongin had gone through the trouble of doing just for him. He feels a little light-headed as he holds his book bag to his chest.

“Hey Kyungsoo?”

The bird, that was previously pecking at a pecan from one of the sticky buns Jongin had made, raises his head. Chanyeol gives him a scared look, everything hitting him at once.

“Did I make a mistake coming here?”

Kyungsoo tilts his head this way and that, seeming to think. 

“Out of all of the Kim brothers, Jongin is the one you least have to worry about.” Kyungsoo looks behind him, and Chanyeol watches him fly shortly to one of the chairs near the fire. He settles in a little makeshift bed made out of a knitted scarf. “He makes me things like these. Always feeds me sunflower seeds unlike the other spawns of satan that give me moldy bread or shitty bird food.”

That doesn’t ease Chanyeol’s nerves at all, and Kyungsoo gives a little huff when he notices the other’s fidgeting.

“Look, all I’m saying is Jongin isn’t… the worst. He actually turned me back to being human at one point. It was only for a night because he would have gotten in trouble with the others if they found out, but still.”

Chanyeol brows furrow. “Why did he do that?”

“He noticed how sad I was getting, and gave me a night of freedom to perk up.”

Jongin’s breathy chuckle behind Chanyeol nearly makes him jump out of his skin. Chanyeol whips around to look at him, seeing his round glasses perched on his nose like during the first time they had met. Jongin looks at him shyly, coming to sit by him again.

“I gave him a night of freedom and he _ still _ didn’t go get laid.” 

Kyungsoo squawks from his spot on the chair, looking like an angry black fluff ball of feathers. Chanyeol laughs nervously and Jongin leans in just enough to whisper.

“Witch hunters are usually virgins. It’s the only reason he was able to bring us back from the dead.” Jongin smiles at him like that statement in itself was normal.

“W-Witch hunter?” Chanyeol looks to Kyungsoo, seeing that he had turned around and is now giving them his feathery butt to ignore them. Something clicks in Chanyeol’s brain, and he hesitantly looks back to Jongin. “He brought you… back?”

Jongin nods eagerly, thin fingers gripping the rather thin book he had gotten from upstairs. “My brothers and I were hung for witchcraft a long, long time ago. We cast a spell so that if a virgin lit our candle on hallow’s eve, we would come back from the dead.”

That light-headed feeling is back and wow it’s hitting Chanyeol full force. He gives a shaky smile. “R-Right.”

There is a beat of silence, and Chanyeol is in the middle of coaxing himself into not having a breakdown in front of this very, _ very _ attractive witch who wants to feed off of him. God he really is an idiot for doing this. Baekhyun was right. He should have never come here. He should have just gone to class and failed his fucking exam like a normal student and repeat his class _ again _.

Just as his anxiety starts to fly through the roof, Jongin looks down at the book in his hands. His expression is a little nervous now, especially when he looks at Chanyeol from under his lashes.

“I know it’s overwhelming,” Jongin starts, his voice small but pulling Chanyeol straight out of his mental breakdown in no time. “But I won’t harm you. I promise you that.”

When Chanyeol only stares at him with worry, Jongin gives him a sad smile.

“I… Don’t have many visitors, you know? Comes with the profession, I guess.” Jongin tries to laugh, but gets quiet afterward. He licks his lips, gazing down at Chanyeol’s bookbag in his lap. “I don’t really get to meet new people outside of my family. I have Kyungsoo, but he can be quite moody depending on the day.”

Jongin takes a breath, making eye contact with Chanyeol now. Chanyeol lips part slightly when all he sees is sincerity and warmth in his irises.

“What I’m saying is you don’t have to be afraid of being here, or of me. Yeah, we have a deal, and I suppose I should just continue to stress you out _ more _ so I can harvest it later, but…” He trails off, glancing quickly to the assorted foods and twisting his hands in his lap. “I’d rather you be comfortable with me… is that okay?”

Chanyeol takes a few moments to process Jongin’s words, the scenery around him, the bickering he hears from upstairs from the other Kim brothers- just _ everything _.

His eyes go from the creepy jars filled with what is _ definitely _ eyeballs and the ominous cauldron in the middle of the room, to the small sandwiches Jongin had made. He takes in the smell of freshly baked pastries and oolong tea ready to be poured.

He glances back to Jongin again, who no longer looks as excited as before, but there is still hope in his eyes. Chanyeol releases a breath he didn’t know he was holding.

He gives Jongin a serious look. “And you really won’t kill me?”

Jongin’s back to smiling again, and that gives Chanyeol’s heart a little relief. Jongin laughs a little. “And get hung for witchcraft again? I’d rather not. Besides, you have a chemistry exam we’re studying for. I can’t let you waste all of our efforts.”

Chanyeol can’t stop the chuckle that leaves his lips, and that seems to excite Jongin because he leans in close. So close that Chanyeol has to count to three multiple times in his head to stay calm because wow Jongin really is so pretty. This is unfair.

“Then I’m alright with this.” 

Jongin releases a little happy noise, immediately putting his book on the table and flipping the pages. “Great! Where should we start? Is there something you struggle with the most?”

Chanyeol thinks, bringing out his book too. He grabs some of his assignments too, thanking Jongin softly when he pours him some tea. “I know this sounds elementary but… some of the reactions I just can’t memorize. I have tried everything. I even have a brick of flashcards at home, but it just won’t stick.”

Jongin makes a noise of sympathy. “It’s rough. Predicting chemical reactions while also having to able to imagine the molecules in three dimensions will give anyone trouble.”

Chanyeol sighs. “I just _ can’t _do it. I’ve gone to several tutors and they tell me the same thing. ‘Look for patterns, memorize those patterns, then it’ll click’.”

“Well, lucky for you, you have a witch up your sleeve,” Jongin says, sitting back and Chanyeol sees little sparks of purple from his hands. The human watches as Jongin’s own book flips its pages on its own, purple tendrils caressing the pages and turning them until they settle. The same happens to Chanyeol’s book, only it goes through every single page in a matter of a couple of seconds. “Can I see your assignment?”

Chanyeol wastes no time handing it to him, and Jongin reaches for a little jar of blue ink he had also brought from upstairs. He gently taps it on his palms, rubbing them together before dragging his palm against each page of the packet. Chanyeol watches curiously, amazed when he sees the papers aren’t even wet from the in. When he’s done, Jongin’s palms are completely clean.

Jongin gives him back the packet, an encouraging expression on his face.

“I want you to blow on it. The hardest breath you can give.”

Chanyeol blinks a couple of times, hoping Jongin isn’t fucking with him and goes for it. He holds up the packet, taking a deep breath and blowing on it.

What happens next, Chanyeol really can’t explain. Words seemingly lift off of the paper, gliding into the air and hanging there, completely suspended. Chanyeol’s eyes are wide as he looks at all of the information literally floating off of his page, settling in front of him.

He sits back, hand raised to his mouth as he looks at it all in awe.

Beside him, Jongin giggles.

Chanyeol looks at him in utter amazement, and Jongin’s gaze turns fond. “This… This is amazing. How is this possible?”

“Witchcraft is all science, Chanyeol. It’s just advanced to the point where humans have not quite understood it yet. Don’t question it too much or you’ll give yourself a headache.” Jongin hands him another mini sandwich, satisfied when Chanyeol takes it and starts munching excitedly. “We have all of your assignment questions, and my book has already taken all of the material from your textbook. You said you’re bad at memorizing reactions, but maybe it’s because you can’t see them for yourself.”

Chanyeol stops chewing, looking awestruck again. “You mean you can…”

Jongin grins, grabbing his arm like he can’t contain himself. “Let’s make some reactions.”

The next few hours are spent with them both casting spell after spell for each of the problems on Chanyeol’s assignment. Well, Jongin is the one doing the spell casting. Chanyeol just watches in awe as Jongin quite literally pulls the element names from his assignment questions suspended mid-air and warps them into 3D models of the molecules for Chanyeol to hold and move around. The best part was combining them, and on multiple occasions, Chanyeol may or may not have started fires. 

Minseok had rushed downstairs after the first few, glaring at Jongin for apparently making such a ruckus without him. No longer did the oldest witch seem completely offended by Chanyeol's presence like earlier. Instead, he wanted to join in on the fun, leading Jongdae to whine for Jongin to allow him to help them out too. Jongin, though, had given them both threatening looks that shut them up almost instantly.

Chanyeol has to admit, this is the most fun he’s had with this stupid subject in a long time. _ And _ he was able to finish his assignment in no time. He knows Jongin knew all of the answers, but Chanyeol was able to complete it himself with Jongin’s steady encouragement. He really must be a visual learner, because the spells Jongin cast truly helped him understand more about this subject than an entire semester’s worth of lectures.

He feels satisfied as he fills in the last answer to his assignment, the words that were once suspended in the air now fading away as if they weren’t there in the first place. Chanyeol feels pure glee pumping through his veins as he looks through his completed work, knowing deep down he could replicate any of those answers if he needed to.

As Chanyeol packs away his papers, he already finds himself looking forward to the next session with Jongin.

The next session.

Chanyeol falters a little, remembering their deal.

He slowly closes his backpack, nerves beginning to act up.

Does Jongin expect something from him now? He hasn’t mentioned a word about his end of the deal, what Chanyeol has to give him in return for all his help. 

When he glances at Jongin anxiously, he sees the witch smiling to himself as he cleans up their mess of papers on the table. He seems to sense Chanyeol’s gaze because his eyes flit to Chanyeol’s own. His expression turns highly amused. 

“You don’t have to look so scared again, Chanyeol.” 

“I’m going to be honest. I’m kind of horrified now.” 

He expects Jongin to laugh at how Chanyeol’s voice cracks in the middle of his sentence, but surprisingly the other softens a bit. 

“I’ve already taken a bit from you without you even knowing. Didn’t you notice you’re not as antsy as you were when you first arrived?” 

Now that Chanyeol thinks about it, he is no longer anxiously bouncing his leg or twirling his pen. His eyes aren’t darting everywhere and his thoughts are… empty. He looks at Jongin for a few moments, realizing how much he has relaxed next to him with his slouched position on the couch and his knees spread comfortably. 

Chanyeol plays with his fingers, staring down at them intensely. “I...I just… I thought I was just getting used to being here.” 

Jongin hums. “Maybe, but I tried to help speed that up.” He gestures to the sandwiches and baked goods that are now all gone, only crumbs left behind. 

Chanyeol looks offended. “You poisoned me” 

“Poison would constitute killing you, and unlike my brothers I quite enjoy the company of mortals. Especially smart ones like you.” Jongin’s eyes sparkle as he leans on the couch, body turned toward Chanyeol and his head resting on his own forearm. Now that Chanyeol looks at him, Jongin really does seem to have a bit of an unnatural glow to him, like he’s become more attractive if that’s even possible.

There’s a small stretch of silence that engulfs the two of them, and Chanyeol oddly finds it comfortable. Jongin stares at him while Chanyeol tries to deal with the other’s attention being completely on him without smiling like an idiot. The crackling of the fire is the only sound that fills the air since Jongin’s two older brothers had left to go bother Junmyeon in his apartment after Jongin _ nicely _ suggested for them to leave. 

Minseok and Jongdae had seemed to find it interesting that Chanyeol was not running for the hills as Jongin used magic to help them study. Minseok even made that comment that they should change him into a bird too, that maybe Kyungsoo wouldn’t be such a grumpy little shit if he had a pal. 

Chanyeol just laughed nervously and prayed Minseok would take Jongin’s stink eye as the cue to leave. He didn’t trust Minseok not to just zap him into a new house pet right then and there.

Jongdae had been mostly observant after Jongin had refused to let them join their little chemistry shenanigans. As Minseok tried to suck up to Jongin by petting his hair and offering treats, Jongdae stayed silent. Chanyeol felt extremely tense when it felt as if Jongdae was looking straight into his soul, judging him piece by piece, atom by atom.

He doesn’t know why, but Jongin’s brother seemed highly interested in him, and Chanyeol isn’t sure if it’s because he really was after his toes like Junmyeon suggested earlier, or if he was just being an overprotective brother.

The Kims do dote on Jongin a lot, so Chanyeol wouldn’t doubt it's the latter.

Whatever it may be, Jongin seemed to have quite enough of his brothers ruining their study session and literally teleported them away. Chanyeol had to remind himself to never get on Jongin’s bad side in future study sessions as they both got back to work on Chanyeol's now finished assignment. 

He sighs, remembering everything else he still has to do as he looks out the windows into the now dark forest. God, it’s already night.

Jongin tilts his head as Chanyeol wrings his hands, him becoming timid as his thoughts race. He thinks about upcoming projects and homework, that with all of the excitement he had studying for organic chem, he had neglected the time he had allotted to study for one of his other exams coming up tomorrow afternoon. 

He already feels sick to his stomach as he tries to rationalize skipping sleeping entirely to just study all night. A few power naps should be able to get him through the night right? 

Suddenly there are soft fingers reaching out and Chanyeol is stunned when Jongin uses his middle and index finger to smooth out the deep furrow between his brows. Jongin’s voice is quiet when he speaks, sounding a little concerned. “What has you so worried? Is everything still not sticking?” 

Chanyeol is breathless as he tries to gather his thoughts. “No, no. I just… I have another exam tomorrow. I lost track of time here.” 

Jongin frowns, expression turning a tad bit guilty. “I didn’t mean to keep you so long.” He thinks to himself before suddenly standing. “Grab your stuff. I’ll take you home.” 

Chanyeol is ready to deny. To make Jongin possibly drive all that way? He would much rather avoid inconveniencing Jongin in any after all his help today. But then Jongin shakes his head, putting his hand out once Chanyeol has everything in his arms and is ready to leave. 

“Do you trust me?” 

Chanyeol thinks about that for a few moments, staring at Jongin’s hand. After everything today, he can’t find a reason not to at least give Jongin the benefit of the doubt. He takes Jongin’s hand hesitantly, whispering afterward. “I think so…” 

“Good,” Jongin says, lips pulling into a handsome smirk. His black eyes spark with purple again as he squeezes Chanyeol’s hand. “Hold on tight.”

Chanyeol barely has time to blink before the air is suddenly sucked out of his lungs, stumbling back and leaning against the wall as he gasps for air. His eyes are wide as he realizes he’s back in his room, looking around frantically as if to confirm this is real.

If he listens carefully he can hear Baekhyun singing somewhere in the kitchen as he cooks, some game show on the TV in their living room. Luckily, his door is shut, so when Jongin rushes over and asks him if he’s alright, Baekhyun doesn’t seem to hear.

“I think I’m okay.”

Jongin gives him a quizzical look. “You look like you’re ready to keel over.”

Chanyeol groans. “That’s not entirely inaccurate at the moment.”

The other sports a guilty expression as he helps guide him to sit on his bed inside. Jongin keeps his hand on Chanyeol’s shoulder as he steadies himself and fights a wave of nausea. 

So his body hates teleporting. The more you know. 

Jongin apologizes softly, looking helpless as Chanyeol takes a few moments to just catch his breath and recover a bit. “I forgot how much you have to get used to it. I’m so sorry, Chanyeol.”

He looks like he’s really beating himself up over this, so Chanyeol tries to come off as sincere when he speaks. “It’s really okay, Jongin. I know you didn’t do it on purpose.”

Jongin pouts a little, eyes darting all over Chanyeol’s face.

“You should try to sleep so you can study for your exam tomorrow,” he says after a few beats of silence, voice soft.

Chanyeol sighs, looking at his feet in frustration. “I would but… My mind won’t let me sleep. I’ll just lie there awake and think nonstop about the test until it drives me insane.” 

Chanyeol feels soft fingers caress his cheeks, glancing up at Jongin in shock when the other cups his cheeks and looks down at him. His expression is a strange mix of concern while having a serious glint to his eyes. 

“Do you want me to take more of it away?” 

“It?...” 

“The stress,” Jongin whispers, tilting Chanyeol’s chin up. His thumb strokes Chanyeol’s cheek, and Chanyeol’s eyes flutter a little at the soft feeling. 

After everything that happened today, Chanyeol finds himself giving in rather quickly. He nods, wide eyes watching as Jongin’s irises spark with streaks of purple. He mumbles to himself, whispering strange words Chanyeol can’t comprehend, and Chanyeol watches him curiously.

Jongin cradles his head in his hands, still gentle even as Chanyeol feels it start to work. He closes his eyes, the stress seeming to just slowly flow from him. When he opens them again, he sees just how much Jongin has changed, looking completely rejuvenated. 

His skin is much more dewy looking, like glass, and his hair looks thick and healthy while the color turns impossibly black. His jawline seems sharper, and his eyebags have significantly lessened. Chanyeol admires him, Jongin looking right back at him. 

Eventually, a soft smile spreads on Jongin’s lips, and Chanyeol feels him fondly caress his ear much like did earlier. 

“How do you feel?” he asks. 

Chanyeol thinks to himself, feeling the same tiredness in his bones from before, but now his mind feels tired too. That nagging fear he had started turning him into a ball of nerves has now disappeared, leaving him exhausted from the day’s events. He smiles, rubbing his eyes a little and thinking that he might be able to actually sleep peacefully without having to take usual sleep aids to force his worrying mind to turn off.

“Exhausted.” 

Jongin sighs in relief, smiling a moment later. “Sleep, pretty mortal. I’ll see you in a day for our next study session.” 

Chanyeol nods. "Thank you… for everything so far."

"Of course." Jongin's smile widens as he steps back. "Goodnight, Chanyeol."

"Goodnight, Jongin."

And with a small puff of smoke, Jongin disappears completely. Chanyeol is left there, staring at where he once stood as his tired brain tries to process it all. He sighs, laying back on his bed and staring up at that ceiling.

His brow furrows as he looks at the ceiling fan with confusion, a thought suddenly entering the forefront of his mind.

How did Jongin know where he lived to teleport them here?

Chanyeol sits up, trying to remember if he had once casually mentioned his address in any way, but his mind comes up blank. He sighs instead, shaking his head and rubbing his face harshly.

He's too tired for this right now. He's just ready to pass out and cram for this exam tomorrow.

And he does as soon as he's dressed for bed and lets Baekhyun know he's home. His best friend throws a lot of prying questions at him, but Chanyeol manages to evade them.

For the first time in a long time, the moment Chanyeol's head hits his pillow, he passes out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hewwo I'm back with an update. this one is a bit longer than the last so I hope you enjoy it!


	4. Chapter 4

“So which resonance drawing has the lowest energy?” 

Chanyeol stares at the worksheet in front of him, gripping his pencil harshly. He furrows his eyebrows as his mind races. Suddenly he feels a gentle touch to his forehead, looking up to see Jongin smiling at him as he smoothes out the wrinkles Chanyeol is giving himself.

“Don’t think too hard. You know this one. I know you do.”

Chanyeol’s heart skips a beat. He looks down at the paper again, pursing his lips.

“Is it… the third one?” Chanyeol hesitantly asks.

Jongin claps his hands, eyes shining. “Yes! See? I told you, you got this.”

“It’s a fluke, I promise.” Chanyeol laughs, scratching the back of his neck. He tries not to look at Jongin’s gorgeous smile too long, knowing he won’t be able to stop once he starts.

Jongin hits him lightly. “Don’t think like that. You’re very bright. You don’t give yourself enough credit.”

Chanyeol blushes at the compliment, watching as Jongin goes to boil some more tea and grab some more snacks. They’re various fruits this time, and not spiked with any sort of magic according to Jongin. Not that Chanyeol really cares at this point. He’s amazingly gotten used to the whole witch-thing when it comes to the other man. Then again, Jongin's brothers definitely scare the shit out of him, even the sweet, docile looking Junmyeon. 

Jongin had informed him that Junmyeon is a CEO of a company, which at first amazed Chanyeol. Then Jongin told him that  Junmyeon feeds off of his miserable employees stuck in their little cubicles pushing paperwork. Chanyeol didn’t know whether to be impressed or horrified. He chooses not to dwell on it. Instead, he usually focuses on Jongin and their study sessions together all while trying to avoid the other Kim brothers like the plague.

It’s their third time meeting because, luckily, Jongin is sweet enough to devote so much time to helping him. 

His exam is in exactly six days. He has another in between now and then, but that class is nothing to worry about. Chanyeol is able to devote all of his efforts to organic chemistry and since his study sessions, he has been improving on all of his practice exams and worksheets.

Jongin has agreed to two more study sessions after this one, and Chanyeol hopes that will be enough. He’s been doing a lot of worksheets at home to study, and he’s doing much better than he actually thought he would.

They both have been working for almost three hours now, and when Chanyeol glances at his phone he sees it’s almost dinner time. He’s not super hungry thanks to all of the snacks Jongin has been feeding him, but he craves something with more sustenance.

Jongin returns with some nuts, and Chanyeol takes some. He takes apart the shells, putting them in front of Kyungsoo who is resting in a makeshift bed of scarves by his side.

He’s grumpy today and hasn’t really said a word since Chanyeol has come, but he seems to like being around Jongin and Chanyeol as they work. The crow pecks at the nuts, eating them as Chanyeol pops a couple in his mouth too. He gently pats Kyungsoo’s head, much like Jongin does, but all he receives is a death glare in return. Chanyeol raises his hands in defense, mentally telling himself not to do it again if he wants to keep his fingers.

Jongin giggles softly at the two. “Here, have some tea. You need a small break.”

Chanyeol smiles at him thankfully, taking the cup and sipping it. He sits back, Jongin doing the same. Chanyeol gulps at the way Jongin’s body is pressed to his on the small couch, and he tries not to think about how warm Jongin feels- or how it would feel to let him rest his head on Chanyeol’s shoulder-

Chanyeol sips the tea faster, hoping Jongin doesn’t see the blush on his cheeks. 

“Did I hear you’re both taking a break?”

Chanyeol should honestly be used to the Kim brothers popping out of thin air, but he can’t. He startles at the sight of Minseok walking up from stairs behind the couch that sits across from them. Only Chanyeol knows for  _ sure _ there isn’t anything but smooth hardwood flooring there. He hears Minseok kick something and suddenly the sound of a slamming door rings through the air. 

Minseok has dark smudges all over his face and clothes, his sleeves singed as if he was too close to fire.

Is their basement literally Hell? 

Should he ask if his calculus professor is down there? Because that man was definitely a demon from the high plains of Hell.

Jongin glares at his brother. “You may  _ not _ borrow my mortal for your shenanigans.”

Chanyeol tries really  _ really _ hard not to look at Jongin like the sun shines out of his ass because of the ' _ my mortal'  _ comment. 

He must remain strong. He sips his tea, pouring more into his cup when he runs out. 

“Not your mortal,” Jongdae says from behind them, smirking when Chanyeol chokes on his tea. Jongin frowns and gently hits his back as he tries to gather himself. Jongdae watches them with eyes like a hawk. “We’re here for the other virgin.”

Chanyeol doesn’t have time to focus on that comment, because suddenly something black moves in his peripheral and catches his attention. Never has Chanyeol seen a bird move so fast in his entire life. One moment, Kyungsoo is at his side, and the next he’s on the table atop Chanyeol's textbook and various papers.

Kyungsoo flaps his wings wildly. “Whatever you want, I assure you both that I will peck your eyes out before you can get it,  _ heathens _ .”

Jongdae grins wickedly. “Such harsh words, Kyungsoo. We need but one feather.”

“Your unholy hands will never so much as touch me. I shall vanquish thee to the heart of the nether realm before you ever get your hands on my- hey!” Chanyeol watches as Minseok raises the feather he just plucked from Kyungsoo with an unimpressed look.

“Another day, witch hunter.” Minseok and Jongdae laugh, but Kyungsoo only bristles. Jongin shakes his head and sighs beside him.

Chanyeol watches with wide eyes as Kyungsoo goes in for the kill and flies suddenly, dive-bombing Minseok. He pecks at him, making Minseok scream and swat him away. In the process, he drops the feather and Kyungsoo is quick to grab it with his beak. He flaps his wings and circles around the room. Minseok looks pissed off now, Jongdae suddenly frowning too as they both shoot what looks like bolts of electricity and ice at the poor crow.

Chanyeol sinks into the couch when he almost gets zapped, clinging onto Jongin’s arm without realizing it. Jongin only laughs lightly, but Chanyeol has no time to focus on that because suddenly Kyungsoo is flying straight into the crackling fire burning brightly in the fireplace.

He’s horrified, especially when he  _ disappears _ . He expects to smell the other burning alive, but nothing like that happens. Jongin pats him as if he’s trying to console a scared child. Chanyeol gapes at him, clearly wanting an explanation.

“Give it a few moments. Calcifer never really lets him hide there long.” 

“C-Calcifer?”

Jongin nods, smiling. “Our fire demon!”

“Right,” Chanyeol says. 

Their fire demon. 

Of course, they have a fire demon. 

Are you an idiot, Park Chanyeol?

Chanyeol watches the fire, tensing when it starts to move unnaturally and pulses as if actually  _ alive _ . Suddenly a ball of feathers is spat out, tumbling on the ground and smoking. Kyungsoo coughs over and over, flapping his wings as if trying to cool them off. Chanyeol sees a small flame licking at Kyungsoo’s tail, and the crow squawks as he tries to put it out.

What amazes Chanyeol the most is the fact Kyungso isn’t even hurt.

Jongin leans forward, gently picking him up and patting him until the fire is out. He cradles him to his chest, plucking a loose feather despite Kyungsoo’s grumbling. Jongin gives his brothers a stern look, holding out the feather.

“Now  _ out _ .”

Much to Chanyeol’s surprise, Jongin’s brothers both look at him with wide eyes and go to leave out the front door. Well. Front door to Junmyeon’s closet. Perhaps they will go bother him instead since Jongin is sending them both a very sinister look right now, obviously not putting up with their antics today.

Ever since Chanyeol jokingly told Jongin last time they were together that his brothers kind of scare the shit out of him, Jongin has forced them both to spend as little time around the human as possible. Chanyeol feels a little grateful at that, especially because all three of them constantly give him that protective older brother stare, and quite honestly after the sandwitches incident with Minseok he never wants to speak in their presence again. Especially because he knows he’ll just make an idiot out of himself real quick. Even Junmyeon gives him long looks that make him feel jittery. Just today when he was escorting Junmyeon to the closet, he asked Chanyeol what he thought of Jongin. 

Chanyeol was ready for the floor to swallow him up right then and there as he stuttered out a neutral response.

Thinking back to it only makes him even more nervous now, especially because they’re finally alone with no one but Kyungsoo in earshot. While he really did come to have his usual tutoring session with Jongin, Chanyeol had something else planned today.

More specifically  _ tonight _ if Jongin accepts.

Ever since his first visit, Chanyeol admits that he’s been infatuated with the witch. And now that they know each other well enough, Chanyeol wants to get to know him  _ more. _

At  _ dinner _ .

On a  _ date _ . 

Fuck, what if Jongin doesn’t accept?

Chanyeol has gone over it multiple times in his head that even if Jongin declines, it wouldn’t be a big deal.

Right?

“Fuck me,” Chanyeol whispers, leaning forward and rubbing his head. He’s usually a lot smoother than this. This exam has truly fucked him up beyond repair. Now he just stresses about every little thing that even comes his way.

The light smell of cinnamon fills his senses, and he feels a gentle hand press to the middle of his back. He looks up to see Jongin gazing at him with genuine worry. 

“I’m sorry. They’re too much sometimes.”

It takes a moment for Chanyeol to realize he’s talking about his brothers, and it amazes the human that quickly he had forgotten about the whole fire incident. His mind had gone straight to  _ Jongin, Jongin, Jongin _ as it always does.

‘ _ Maybe it’s a spell he put on you _ ,’ his mind helpfully supplies.

Chanyeol smiles, shaking his head. “No, no. I mean that was definitely… a lot but-”

“A lot, he says.” Kyungsoo gives him a fixed look, turning around to show his butt of feathers. The crow shakes it at him angrily. “You know what was a lot? My dignity being stolen.”

Jongin lightly kicks at him, giving him a stern look too. Kyungsoo just grumbles, flying out of sight. The witch’s gaze is focused back on Chanyeol, and suddenly his heart is in his throat.

“Are you really okay?” Jongin looks so concerned that it’s endearing, and Chanyeol wants to assure him everything is fine, but he can’t seem to form the words.

Fuck,  _ just ask him already _ .

“I-I’m fine. I promise. Uhm.”

Jongin looks at him from under his eyelashes, brown eyes just so captivating that Chanyeol has trouble focusing. He notices Jongin sniff the air a little then.

“Oh gods,” Jongin starts, gently putting a hand on his shoulder. “Why are you stressing? Is something wrong? Is something we went over not sticking? I know we usually stop around this time but we can go over everything again if you need-”

“No! No. It’s not that. I’m just. I'm an idiot,” Chanyeol laughs. Jongin looks at him confusedly, and Chanyeol prays he can’t see the blush rising to his cheeks. “I was wondering if you wanted to get some dinner or something?”

Jongin sits up straight then, blinking at Chanyeol. 

To say he looks thrown off is an understatement, but before Chanyeol can go throw himself out the closest window, Jongin starts to smile. He smiles so widely, in fact, that Chanyeol can’t help but to mirror it. Jongin laughs then, obviously piecing two and two together as to why exactly Chanyeol was so nervous a moment ago. Others would probably find it a tad off putting, but Chanyeol knows this is just how Jongin is.

‘ _ He sounds like a seal _ ,’ Chanyeol thinks dreamily.

“You really are the cutest human I have ever met.” Jongin speaks so fondly that it makes Chanyeol’s heart skip a beat. The witch drags his hand over the papers and books, them following his hand like a magnet and ending up in a neat pile for Chanyeol to pack away. “Why dinner, if I may ask?

Chanyeol laughs, embarrassed now. “I knew we had an agreement: my stress for your help on my exam… but I was hoping to kind of repay you more, I guess.”

Jongin hums, standing and stretching as Chanyeol gathers his things. He watches him, eyes sparkling with excitement. “Where are you taking me then?”

“Uh.” He didn’t think that far. Oops. “What do you like? If you want sweets like the ones you bake all the time, I know a cafe where-”

Jongin shakes his head, stepping closer. Chanyeol is stunned at the way the other is practically vibrating in happiness right now at the thought of going out with Chanyeol. “Take me to your favorite places. I want to see what it’s like.”

“What it’s like?” Chanyeol asks breathily, starstruck at just how perfect Jongin looks with his hair tousled and lips parted in excitement.

Jongin’s face softens then, and Chanyeol thinks he sees a sad glint to Jongin’s eyes. “What it’s like to be human again.”

That confuses Chanyeol to no end, but he figures he can ask Jongin about it later. If Jongin wants to experience humanity, Chanyeol’s going to give it to him- on a college budget of course. He sweats at the thought that he may end up spending his paycheck this week, but then he gets an idea. He grabs his bag, giving Jongin a smile.

“I know where I'll take you.” 

Jongin beams at him.

~

Jongin walks with him side by side, bumping into Chanyeol every once and a while as he looks around. Chanyeol feels so warm under his collar, trying to keep his gaze straight. He looks down every once and a while when he hears Jongin’s light giggles, seeing that he’s just enjoying being out and about. His heart swells at that, and he gains a little more confidence as they approach a busy section of Myeongdong. 

He purposefully takes Jongin down a route that avoids the main hustle and bustle of the popular shopping area, but there is still a small crowd. Jongin eyes all of the food stalls, grinning widely when they approach one. He looks down at all of the various foods, pointing to a few of them that look especially good.

Chanyeol orders a couple of the eomuk on the long skewers, the elderly lady there handing it to them a few moments later. There’s a very small crowd around them, but it’s oddly calm as they face each other and eat. Jongin’s eyes widen as he chews, cheeks distended from him taking too big of a bite. Chanyeol inwardly coos.

“This is so good! My brothers usually put these in soup.” Jongin takes another bite, practically inhaling it. Chanyeol laughs.

“I like having them every once and awhile.” He looks at the other options. “Do you like cheese?”

“Who do you take me for?” Jongin asks playfully, and Chanyeol happily orders them a couple of cheese dogs. 

They order food after food, eventually moving on to another food stall and trying more there. Chanyeol notices Jongin  _ really _ likes the fried chicken as they share a small cup together, both eating the pieces with the small toothpicks. He orders them a couple more cups after that, loving the sparkle in Jongin’s eye when he has all of the food in front of him. 

They eventually find a small tent set up nearby, and Jongin sits down as Chanyeol orders them more to eat. It seems Jongin is like Chanyeol in the aspect he’s a bottomless pit. Chanyeol loves it. 

He has a couple of plates filled with seafood pancake, bringing over tteokbokki to share. The inside of the tent is heated, so Chanyeol shrugs off his jacket. Jongin watches him, not even digging into the food in front of him like he has been the entire night so far. Chanyeol blushes, especially when he catches Jongin staring.

Jongin becomes shy then, picking up his chopsticks and smiling to himself. Chanyeol sips the warm broth he ordered when they first came in. Jongin uses his chopsticks to tear at the seafood pancake, putting a piece in front of Chanyeol for him to take before eating his own piece.

Chanyeol smiles when Jongin sighs at the taste. “Is it good?”

Jongin nods. “Really good. I’ve never actually had street food like this.”

Chanyeol’s eyebrows raise. “Are you serious?”

“Yeah.” Jongin waves his hand. “I’ve heard a lot about it and see it around, but I don’t usually go out by myself. My brothers don’t really care to be around humans all that much, so I never get to try things like this.”

Chanyeol chews the tteok in his mouth, humming thoughtfully. He thinks back to what Jongin said before, growing curious.

“Earlier you said you wanted to know what it’s like to be human again.” Jongin’s pretty brown eyes flit to him, and Chanyeol feels pinned by his deep gaze. How this man is  _ this _ unbelievably handsome, Chanyeol will never understand. “What did you mean by that?”

Jongin bites his lip for a second, looking around at the other tables around them. He suddenly gets up, scooting his plate beside Chanyeol and sitting there. Chanyeol is thrown off, but then he figures Jongin doesn’t want to make Chanyeol uncomfortable by talking about the whole witch thing too loudly. Chanyeol feels a bit bad Jongin has to hide this part of himself, but then again, he’s also grateful because at least it won’t be a repeat of what happened when they first met in the courtyard of his university.

“We used to be more integrated with human society,” Jongin says, picking at his food. Chanyeol’s full attention is on him, watching as Jongin tries to organize his thoughts before speaking again. “It was centuries ago before we were… well, hanged.”

Chanyeol tries not to cringe at that. Jongin smiles.

“My brothers used to create potions and such for the locals. It was all under the table, and we played it off as being shamans, mostly. It allowed us to use souls for what we pleased, I suppose. I was the one that actually went out among the people.”

Chanyeol is oddly fascinated, food forgotten at this point. “Wait, when was this exactly?”

Jongin chuckles, and Chanyeol swears he sees a spark of purple flash in his eyes. “It was a very long time ago. I honestly can’t remember the date.”

“Did you enjoy it? Being out with other humans?” 

“I liked it a lot,” Jongin says, getting an excited look. “I would pretend to be a trader. I used spells to gather supplies to sell and change my features so that I could walk through the markets. Many people would come up to talk to me. It was so amazing to hear each of their stories. If they were good people, I would give them good prices.”

Chanyeol laughs. It gets a little quiet as Jongin takes a few bites, Chanyeol doing the same. A thought comes to him, and he hesitates a little before asking. “Is there something that happened that made you stay away from humans?”

Jongin sighs then, but Chanyeol is happy to see he doesn’t look upset at his curiosity.

“I fell in love.”

Chanyeol tenses up, obviously not expecting that. He feels a sense of guilt wash over him immediately, about to apologize for bringing it up, but oddly enough Jongin seems unbothered.

“He was a noble. He thought I was a spirit of the forest because I had saved him with my magic after finding him hurt and alone in the woods. It was fun when he brought me around, and showed me his home. But he rejected me once he found out my true nature.” Jongin shrugs when Chanyeol gives him a concerned look. “A demon, he called me. An evil spirit that would have brought nothing but bad luck upon him and his family.”

“I’m sorry he said those things to you.” Chanyeol feels a sense of anger rush through him, but deflates when Jongin just pats his hand happily.

“It’s alright!” Jongin beams at him. “My brothers and I turned him and his family into toads! We boiled them for our mother’s favorite exfoliating foot serum. She quite loved it.”

Chanyeol blinks.

If this had been a couple of weeks ago, he would have been thinking that maybe he should run away while he still can. No crush is worth being turned into a  _ toad _ and  _ boiled alive _ .

But now, Chanyeol has grown so used to Jongin- so used to the strange antics and stories that he actually finds himself laughing. In fact, he laughs so hard he can’t stop. 

Jongin’s expression only seems to brighten tenfold, him laughing too when Chanyeol starts choking on his own saliva.

The two of them are probably entirely too loud for the small tent and the people around them, but Chanyeol hardly cares. Not when Jongin is adorably giggling and hitting his arm repeatedly.

When they both calm down, Jongin just continues to grin at him.

“You’re not as scared of me as you used to be,” Jongin notes, and Chanyeol’s heart skips a beat at the softness in his tone.

Chanyeol smiles, taking some tteok and chewing on it. “I was never scared. Disturbed? Maybe a little. But you’re not all that different from anyone else here.”

Jongin hums, eyes sparkling violet as he glances to the small tank filled with octopi swimming around. He tilts his head at them, Chanyeol seeing a flash of purple run through his fingers and straight into the tank. Chanyeol blinks as one octopus suddenly starts to grow larger, arms stretching well out of the tank and curling around. There are a few screams from the girls behind them as the owner panics, trying to wack the octopus' arms when they start to reach for him.

Chanyeol blinks, especially when Jongin turns to smile at him again, eyes innocent.

“Just like everyone else,” Jongin giggles, violet tendrils flowing like silk from Jongin’s thin fingers as he drums them against the tabletop. “You’re right.”

Chanyeol must be insane- completely so- because all he can do is send Jongin a fond look before grabbing a piece of pancake and brazenly holding it up for Jongin to eat. “Eat, little witch.”

Jongin opens his mouth, chewing smugly. There is a bright, childish sparkle to his eye. “Thank you, pretty human.”

The absolute chaos around them ensues- the chef now holding a cleaver and swinging it towards the octopus, who lets out a demonic shriek. It takes it from him, waving it around while the owner starts to yell. A police siren is wailing in the distance, and people are still screaming as they look on in horror.

Chanyeol, though, he’s too focused on the fact Jongin called him ‘pretty’ to notice anything else. 

~

Chanyeol isn’t exactly sure how he and Jongin are able to walk straight out of the food vendor’s tent without someone so much as batting an eye at them. He assumes Jongin cast some sort of spell so that no one would notice them as they calmly left behind the chaotic scene. Either way, Chanyeol is happy that they’re able to walk together. 

He tells Jongin that he has somewhere else he wants to take him, and Jongin readily agrees.

The short bus ride has Jongin very curious as they pass through all the city lights, eyes taking in everything as the bus takes them to their destination. The bus gets crowded because of the daily rush, but Jongin doesn’t seem to mind. Chanyeol feels like he’s suffocating inside when Jongin stands directly behind him at one point, chin resting on his shoulder as he watches out the bus’ window. 

He looks out the window too, catching Jongin’s eyes in his reflection just as the other slides one of his arms around Chanyeol’s waist to keep himself stabilized as the bus turns. Chanyeol knows his ears are absolutely red, and all hope that Jongin doesn’t notice vanishes when he feels the other’s gentle caress on the shell of his ear like he always does. He sees Jongin’s shy smile in the reflection of the window, and oh wow this is unfair. How is Jongin’s smile this stunning? 

Lucky for Chanyeol their stop is next because his legs are feeling a little wobbly now. He clears his throat awkwardly, pressing the button for the driver to know to stop. Jongin looks at him excitedly, following him off the bus once the doors open. Chanyeol gestures across the street where there is a large bridge.

“We’re almost there,” he says, leading Jongin towards the large statue standing tall and marking the start of their destination. In the background, Chanyeol can see the bustling Gwanghwamun Plaza, but Jongin seems more interested in the stream in front of the statue. Chanyeol grins at the fact that there aren’t too many people walking, going down the stairs as Jongin looks around curiously. 

His lips are parted slightly, skin glowing from the city lights shining down on him. Chanyeol stands there and admires the way the witch gasps in excitement at the flowing water of the Cheonggyecheon stream. He steps onto the stones, squatting down and letting his fingers brush the very top of the water.

It’s chilly outside, but yet Jongin looks ready to jump in- expensive peacoat and all. He throws a look towards Chanyeol over his shoulder, standing up and bouncing over to him. He gives a tiny ‘ _ hehehe _ ’ as he does so and Chanyeol finds himself swooning inwardly.

Maybe Jongin really has put a spell on him, because the way Chanyeol’s heart flip flops in his chest  _ can’t  _ be normal. He’s never had a crush this intense before, and it’s equal parts horrifying and equal parts exhilarating.

“This is so pretty,” Jongin says, falling into step with Chanyeol once the human starts walking along the path.

“I come here during the fall and winter. It can be a quiet place to just relax if there aren’t too many people.”

“It reminds me of the stream by our cottage,” Jongin says fondly, smiling at the sight of the tourists posing for pictures over some of the rocks in the middle of the stream.

“The same cottage in Junmyeon’s closet?” Chanyeol asks, at this point not even phased.

Jongin nods. “There’s a stream right outside. I used to play there as a child! My mother would always find me trying to cast spells to help the fish breathe on land.” Jongin tuts his tongue. “I was never able to get it to work.”

Chanyeol hums as if agreeing. He’s learned with Jongin and his brothers that they’re usually very chatty when it comes to their witch-side, but don’t really expect outsiders to understand them. Though, Chanyeol has found that Jongin has a special dimple filled smile when the human asks him more about his life. 

“How about now?” Chanyeol teases, looking to the little fish in the stream.

Jongin holds his head high, clearly proud. “Was the octopus not enough for you tonight? Shall I make the fish grow legs and walk along with us?”

Chanyeol chuckles, knowing the other is just playing. Well. Partly, at least.

“They would be like baby ducks following their mother,” Chanyeol says, looking at Jongin. “Are you ready to be a mother duck?”

Jongin laughs, it sounding like he’s choking. He pushes Chanyeol a little, looking ahead of them with a smile on his face. Chanyeol does the same, letting them fall into a comfortable silence.

Eventually, he breaks it, especially when he sees it’s just them two walking along the stream. It’s probably getting a bit late, so most are probably heading home now. 

“You know,” he starts, swallowing harshly when Jongin’s eyes flit to him. “I’ve always kind of wondered… How is your magic possible? I mean, I know you’re probably used to the whole ‘science doesn’t support this’ argument, but you’ve said before that’s not the case.”

Jongin smiles, eyes scrunching up. “I was wondering if you would ever bring that up.”

Chanyeol scratches the back of his neck, laughing nervously. “I’ve always kind of wondered, actually. What you can do is… fascinating.”

If Chanyeol thought Jongin was gorgeous before, nothing prepared him for Jongin  _ blushing _ . He has a bashful expression now as he smiles at the ground.

“Well. It’s all just about energy, really. Witchcraft is just very  _ very  _ advanced science.” Jongin purses his lips in thought. “Some humans have started to just scrape the surface of it all, but it doesn’t help that their chemical nature doesn’t allow them the same access that a witch has.”

Chanyeol listens closely, mind racing. “Chemical nature?”

Their shoulders brush as they walk. There is a quiet breeze that blows Jongin’s hair just right, and Chanyeol has to force himself to not get too starstruck as Jongin speaks.

“Witches are drastically different from humans. You and I may look exactly the same, but if you were to compare our DNA, it would hardly match.” Jongin giggles at the bewildered look on Chanyeol’s face. “People like my brothers and I have a chemical makeup that allows us to be conduits of energy. Because of who we are, we are able to take that energy and turn it into something physical- or manipulate it how we wish. This is why your organic chemistry comes so easy to me- all of these elements and their reactions at their very core are just energy and the outcome of that energy.”

Chanyeol thinks back to the way Jongin had waved his hand over his things earlier, everything following his hand like a magnet until it was all stacked neatly on top of each other. He makes a face, Jongin giggling at how amazed he looks.

“Wow,” he says intelligently. Jongin just laughs.

“Humans can do magic too! With help, of course.”

Chanyeol suddenly stops, eyes wide. “No way. Oh my god- show me right now.”

Jongin’s eyebrow ticks, getting a handsome grin on his face. “You want to do it?”

“Hell yeah,” Chanyeol says, and that seems to throw Jongin off a little. He must not be used to people outside of his family being so accepting of him. Which is understandable, considering if this were two weeks ago, Chanyeol would have been running for the hills at this moment. 

But things have changed, and Chanyeol isn’t sure if it’s just the existential dread of his upcoming exam or if maybe Jongin feeding off of him all those times have just allowed him to push his initial fears away- but he’s absolutely  _ thrilled _ when Jongin takes his hands into his. He softly tells Chanyeol to have his palms face up and cupped, Jongin’s soft hands pressing against his underneath.

“It’s all about energy,” Jongin reminds him. “Focus on the heat of our hands. Focus really hard. Try to picture the feeling as something physical in your hands, like you’re holding a really warm bowl.”

Chanyeol’s brows furrow, trying as hard as he can despite how silly he feels. He focuses on the warmth of Jongin’s touch, on his own hands. He nearly misses the small sparks of violet that slither from Jongin’s fingers and over Chanyeol’s own, flowing towards his palm until suddenly there is a small flash of light. Chanyeol jumps, tense, but Jongin laughs.

The witch gentle pulls his hands away, leaving Chanyeol with the small glowing flame in his palms.

Chanyeol gasps, unable to stop the grin on his face even as the flame becomes a pathetic little flicker of light, seeming to smother out rather quickly as the seconds tick on.

“ _ I _ did that?” he asks incredulously, holding up his hands as if he just performed some sort of miracle. Wait, he just did. Jongin watches him quietly, but Chanyeol can hardly focus on that right now. 

He just made fire appear from his hands like some sort of character from Avatar: The Last Airbender.

He really performed  _ magic _ .

_ Actual magic _ . 

Chanyeol looks from his hands to Jongin, lifting his arms higher now and striking a slight pose. 

“I’m a god.”

Jongin snorts, watching him fondly. In fact, the other looks a bit dazed, but Chanyeol might just be imagining it.

“You’re on your way to being a sorcerer, pretty human.”

Chanyeol chuckles, bumping Jongin lightly on purpose. They both lazily start to walk again as Chanyeol’s curiosity gets the better of him. 

“How did I do that?”

“Well, you know how I feed off of stress right?” 

Chanyeol nods. 

“Humans have a sort of untapped energy. My brothers and I used to feed off of this in our earlier days. In children especially, since they sometimes have so much energy that they wear themselves out. People didn’t like that very much though. Thought we were actually killing them.” Jongin rolls his eyes, scoffing. Right. He was hung before. Chanyeol still can’t get used to that fact. 

Jongin raises a finger, pointing at Chanyeol. “Energy from stress is also very abundant in humans, sometimes the strongest depending on the person.”

Chanyeol makes a noise of understanding. “I must be a four-course meal then.”

Jongin actually smirks then, and Chanyeol feels like he’s about to pass out when the witch’s eyes rake down his entire body. Jongin gives a satisfied hum, eyes lingering on Chanyeol’s lips. 

“You definitely are.”

Chanyeol blushes bright red and nearly chokes, but tries to focus on the subject. “So I have untapped energy that made the flame?”

“Kind of. You lack the ability to use that energy, so I just gave you a little push.”

That must be why the flame was quick to die once Jongin took his hands away. Chanyeol shakes his head, looking at the other man in disbelief.

“You’re amazing.”

Jongin grows shy, smiling at the ground again. “It’s nothing, really.”

Chanyeol really wants to tell him that’s the biggest lie on Earth, but decides to keep quiet for now. Instead, he takes in everything Jongin has told him, sighing a little in wonder.

“Are your parents witches too then?” Normally Chanyeol would hesitate to ask too many questions in case he comes off as prying, but Jongin seems to be eating up all of the attention from the human at the moment.

“Yes!” Jongin says happily. “My mother and her sisters mostly raised us though.” 

“So… are you not allowed to be with humans?” 

“What do you mean?” Jongin tilts his head. “We live among them now.” 

“No, no… I mean in like… a romantic sense.” 

Kill him now. He’s digging his own grave. He already feels himself starting to sweat even as he avoids eye contact.

“Like dating?” 

“Y-Yeah.” 

Jongin purses his lips, thinking. “Usually we avoid it. Only because beings like us age very slowly. It’s hard to watch our human counterparts leave us so quickly. Life is fleeting for mortals, I’m sure you understand.” 

Chanyeol swallows, fidgeting. God, he’s hopeless. “I suppose.” 

Jongin smiles softly, suddenly stopping to stand in front of Chanyeol to make him stop in his tracks too. He reaches up and caresses Chanyeol’s ear. Jongin does this so often, that weirdly enough it has become something calming to Chanyeol. He sighs a little at the touch, eyes slowly moving from the ground and settling on Jongin’s face.

“But some of us are too curious to stay away.” Jongin’s eyes shine, absolutely sparkling in the moonlight. “Especially if the human is special in the eyes of the witch.”

Chanyeol’s breath hitches at that, especially when Jongin bites his lip. He smiles then, especially when they start their pace back up. Now they’re walking a bit closer, and the comfortable silence between them fills Chanyeol’s chest with warmth. He bites his lip from smiling too hard, ducking his chin.

The water beside them makes little trickling noises as it moves through the rocks and plants. It’s calming, and even though the cool breeze is starting to become too cold for him, Chanyeol doesn’t care. All he can think at this moment is ‘ _ he likes me too _ ’.

He glances at Jongin’s hand resting by his side and decides to be brave. His heart flutters when his fingers brush against Jongin’s, slowly moving until he intertwines them. 

Jongin glances shyly towards him then, smiling softly as he brings their hands into his coat pocket. The human swears he’s never seen such a beautiful smile in his life. 

Chanyeol’s fingers are like ice against Jongin’s, so he appreciates the added warmth of the witch’s coat pocket. Jongin is closer to him now, and Chanyeol loves how Jongin softly brushes his thumb along Chanyeol’s own.

“We should get you home. You’re going to freeze out here,” Jongin says, and Chanyeol wonders if he can hear his teeth chattering at this point.

Chanyeol wishes he could object, but the winter breeze is persistent and he can hardly take any more of it. He briefly thinks as he leads Jongin to the closest bus stop that perhaps he should just fire bend again and warm up that way. When he mentions that to Jongin, the witch seems very flustered, laughing nervously as if he truly expected Chanyeol to just forget about it that quickly. Chanyeol half expected him to jump at the opportunity, but it seems to only make him fidget so Chanyeol decides to tell him he doesn’t need help.

At Jongin’s confused expression, Chanyeol just strikes a pose at him with his palm up. Jongin laughs, especially when people stare at Chanyeol like he’s an idiot.

“I’ll warm us up real quick. Just watch me-  _ oh fuck! _ ” 

It was small, so small that no one around them saw, but Chanyeol definitely felt the unnatural spark in his hands. Unlike last time, where it hadn’t even touched his skin, this one was a quick burn that made him startle. When he looks up at Jongin, he sees the other’s mischievous eyes swirling with vibrant sparks of violet.

“That’s not fair,” Chanyeol says, clearly pouting as he stands normally now. Jongin laughs merrily, but quiets after a few moments. Their bus approaches, but the witch looks at him shortly, gaze deep and twinkling from the city lights as he stares up at Chanyeol. He speaks softly, so softly that Chanyeol hardly hears him over the breaks of the bus stopping in front of them.

“You’re so different from all other humans I have ever met.” 

The bus doors open and Jongin smiles, leaving Chanyeol breathless for the millionth time tonight.

“I really like you.”

~

The elevator dings and they both shuffle out together, still hand in hand. They walk as slowly as they can until they end up at the door to Chanyeol and Baekhyun’s apartment. 

Jongin had insisted on bringing Chanyeol home, saying he could just teleport back to Junmyeon’s place right after. Chanyeol was secretly relieved at that because he doesn’t even want to think about Jongin’s older brothers possibly standing there, waiting for them both to return.

Chanyeol turns to Jongin, and they both can’t help but smile at each other when their gazes meet. “I had fun tonight.”

“That should be my line,” Jongin says. He looks content, and Chanyeol knows he’s being sincere. 

Chanyeol still hasn’t let go of the witch’s hand, and he really wishes he doesn’t have too. He sighs a little, and Jongin smiles softly, bringing Chanyeol’s hand to his lips. The other’s heart skips a beat when plush lips meet his skin, in awe as Jongin lets Chanyeol’s hand fall to his side.

Jongin looks so charming under this lighting, jet black hair curling against his forehead. He bows a little, lips still pulled into a handsome smile.

“Goodnight, Chanyeol.” 

“Goodnight Jongin,” Chanyeol says breathily, feeling dazed. Jongin takes a step back, about to turn on his heel to walk and possibly teleport away, but Chanyeol throws all hesitation he has left to the wind. 

He catches Jongin’s wrist, gently tugging him back in front of the human. Jongin blinks at him, eyes innocent and surprised. He parts his lips, about to speak, but Chanyeol leans in and kisses him. 

Jongin’s breath hitches, and Chanyeol doesn’t even have time to overthink because Jongin melts against him. The witch sighs through his nose, eyes fluttering shut as he softly grips at the front of Chanyeol’s coat. 

When they break the kiss, both of them are giggling. 

Jongin looks up at him, gaze soft. “You make it hard to want to leave now.” 

Chanyeol bites his lip at that, trying to stop himself from grinning like an idiot. 

“It was okay then?” 

“More than okay,” Jongin says quietly. He looks at his feet, glancing back at Chanyeol hesitantly. “I’m afraid I don’t know a lot about courting practices of this era. I’m sorry if I ever make a mistake.” 

“I could tutor you in that,” Chanyeol jokes, tensing up when he realizes what he just said. “I’m sorry, that made me sound like an absolute dick. I didn’t mean it like that.” 

Much to his relief, Jongin just giggles. 

“You’re cute, human.” He leans in, pecking Chanyeol’s nose. “Unfortunately, I must be on my way. My brothers will be wondering where I was off to.”

He pauses for a moment, smirking a little at the apartment door.

“I also sense that your apartment companion is listening to us through the door.” 

Chanyeol sighs then, kicking his apartment door and hearing Baekhyun let out a startled yelp on the other side. He smiles apologetically at Jongin. “I’m sorry you have to teleport home by yourself.”

Jongin snorts. “It’s only a few seconds. I will survive.”

It becomes quiet between them, and Chanyeol bites his lip when Jongin’s eyes flit to Chanyeol’s lips. He swallows, rubbing the back of his neck. 

“I guess I’ll see you tomorrow for tutoring?”

“Yeah.” Jongin looks hesitant, but steps back. “I will see you tomorrow.”

Chanyeol waves a little, wanting nothing more than to hold Jongin close and kiss him once again. Jongin looks like he is in the same boat, but all he does is reach up to stroke Chanyeol’s ear just before he teleports away. Chanyeol is left with a ghost of his touch and a small cloud of black smoke that slowly disappears before his eyes.

Chanyeol stands there for a few moments, sighing happily to himself. He unlocks his door, mind and body feeling as light as air. 

He’s on cloud nine right now, knowing he probably looks like an idiot with the grin on his face but he doesn’t bother to try to hide it. Baekhyun eyes him suspiciously from the kitchen with his protein shake, and Chanyeol can only think back to him and Jongin as the bus stop.

He strikes a similar fighting pose that he did earlier, focusing on the heat of his hands as he holds his open palm towards his roommate.

There is a beat of silence.

“Chanyeol, what are you doing?” 

“That’s Prince Zuko to you now, non bender.” 

Baekhyun sips his shake, giving him a level stare as he walks right past him and into the living room. “You’re so fucking weird. I think your  _ witch _ is rubbing off on you.”

Chanyeol chuckles to himself, grabbing himself a glass of water before deciding to head off to bed. He flops on his mattress once he’s in his room, sighing happily and staring up at the ceiling like a lovesick teen. He feels the urge to just giggle at nothing bubble up, his stomach fluttering as he thinks back to Jongin’s hand in his- his lips fitting  _ perfectly _ against his.

God, he’s hopeless, but at least he won’t be losing sleep over stress for once.

He’s about to get up to get changed when he suddenly hears what sounds like tearing paper. He looks just in time to see black smoke curling and disappearing into the air, Jongin at the center of it. 

He’s changed now, in sweatpants and a plain t-shirt. Chanyeol stands, looking worried.

“Jongin?” He tries to keep his voice low, not wanting Baekhyun to hear.

Jongin fidgets, eyes looking everywhere but at Chanyeol as he stumbles over his words.

“I’m sorry, I.. Can I just…” He steps closer, a little breathless. “Can I kiss you one more time?” 

Chanyeol slowly grins at that, thoroughly happy to know he’s not the only one who can’t stop thinking about the next time they could be together again.

He doesn’t answer, instead just cupping Jongin’s flushed cheeks and leaning in. Their lips meet once again, both smiling like idiots against each other until Chanyeol deepens it. Jongin sighs softly, arms wrapping around Chanyeol’s waist.

Chanyeol can hardly breathe with the way his heart is beating wildly in his chest as Jongin holds him.

Magical. 

Kissing Jongin is absolutely magical.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this was inspired from my date to myeongdong but sjfnkdsjf it was nowhere near as wonderful and perfect. i mean the guy couldn't even fire bend??? men are truly useless huh? 
> 
> anyways! thank you for being so patient! i hope everyone is well and staying safe <3 remember to wash your hands, my dudes.


End file.
